requirements for the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to install
dust monitoring stations along the Hunter Valley line to monitor dust generated
by trains

two major studies into air quality in the Lower Hunter/Newcastle region
– the Lower Hunter Particle Characterisation Study and Dust Deposition Study [link to new page Regional air quality/Lower Hunter air quality studies]

It focuses on measures relevant to the Hunter Valley rail
corridor and other coal rail corridors in NSW.

Australian Rail Track Corporation Report

To investigate the levels of dust generated by coal train movements in
the Hunter region, the NSW EPA issued the Australian Rail Track Corporation
(ARTC) with two pollution reduction programs (PRPs) that required ARTC to
install dust monitoring stations along the Hunter Valley line to monitor dust
generated by different train movements.

The aim of the study was to see if loaded coal trains emitted more
particle pollution than other trains. The main finding of the study, verified
by independent review and statistical reanalyses, was that that there was no appreciable difference between the dust
levels measured from the movement of loaded coal trains and other types of
freight trains.

The timeline summarises the analyses and reports:

Timeline

September 2011 and October 2012 -
EPA issues pollution
reduction programs to ARTC for monitoring and follow-up monitoring.

Final analysis

Professor Ryan’s findings concluded that particulate increases are not likely
to be caused by diesel exhaust emissions from trains, but by particulate matter
being stirred up from the rail tracks as trains passed by.

The number of trains had no impact on
particulate levels. This
dispels, to some extent, the hypothesis that diesel exhaust was responsible for
much of the observed increases in particulate levels associated with trains
passing.

Whether
it had rained the previous day had a significant impact on particulate levels,
indicating the increased particulate
levels were caused by trains stirring up dust that had settled earlier.

Although diesel
particulates were not specifically identified in the statistical analysis,
diesel combustion is a well-established and quantifiable source of fine
particle emissions.